| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,290,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥990,000)
Fiscal Year 2009: ¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000)
Fiscal Year 2008: ¥1,950,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥450,000)
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| Research Abstract |
It has been suggested that some environmental chemicals such as air pollutants and plasticizers can induce and/or exacerbate allergic diseases. However the mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. We investigated the effects of environmental chemicals, diesel exhaust particles (DEP) and their organic chemicals (DEP-OC), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP) as principal plasticizers on immune responses. To examine whether these chemicals stimulate antigen-presenting cells in atopic prone mice, we cultured bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) and measured their phenotypes and function after exposure to the chemicals. The present study demonstrated that DEP, DEP-OC, BaP, DEHP, and DINP enhanced the expression of activation markers associated with antigen presentation and migration into local lymph nodes on BMDC. Migration activity of BMDC was enhanced by exposure to these chemicals. Furthermore, mite antigen-specific antigen-presenting activity and stimulation of Th2 cytokine production of BMDC were also enhanced by exposure to DEHP and DINP. The mechanisms of the environmental chemical-induced aggravation of allergy might be, at least partly, mediated through the activation of dendritic cells and Th2 responses.
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